Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Monday, January 24, 2011

I don't know what's going on. Two weeks ago, I came across a dead baby dolphin on the beach here in Goa, while on my walk at sunset. I was quite distressed about it, but heard stories the subsequent days of dolphin sightings on the beach....Live dolphins!
I've been illustrating a 'sea' children's book all month, and it's a pleasure to be doing these watercolours by the sea, using the water from the sea. So it was especially exciting today, when I spotted a dolphin, alive and well, bobbing along with the waves very close to the shore. The light on the water was glorious today, and I decided to go for a swim this afternoon. While in the water, I saw two lifeguards pull a dead dolphin ashore. It had been dead for a few days, and had it's skin peeling off. I proceeded to do a watercolour of the burial ceremony, as the lifeguards dug a grave for it.

I bring all of this to light because, a couple of months ago, one of my hiberation dreams in Canada was of a dead seal and a polar bear being brought ashore. There was even a reindeer ( or perhaps an elk or Caribou) that was lying upside down on a sort of a trailer. I touched the seal/polar bear and asked if it would help me tell it's story.

I am hoping that these experiences that I see, help me tell the story of these creatures, so that I can translate in some form the beauty, magnificence and LIFE that exists all around us.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Finished 11 graduation certificates for the students who graduated from Liza's alternative education school in Goa. Liza commissioned me to do portraits of each of her students, and incorporate their vibe and things that they love in the painting.